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GOVERNOR PATERSON SIGNS GREEN JOBS/GREEN NEW YORK BILL

Editor, Our Time Press
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Program to Assist Low-Income and Unemployed Train for Green Collar Jobs

New Website – GreenCareersNY.com – to Match Job Seekers with Green Training Opportunities

This week, Governor David A. Paterson  signed the Green Jobs/Green New York Act, establishing a program that will create green jobs and stimulate investment in weatherization and energy efficiency improvements for residential and commercial buildings. Governor Paterson held the signing ceremony at the New York State Weatherization Directors Association training center in North Syracuse, where New Yorkers are being trained to weatherize and retrofit homes.

“The workforce training that this bill supports will prepare New Yorkers to find jobs in the 21st century clean energy economy that we are building here in New York. I am proud to sign into law the Green Jobs/Green New York Act, so we can help New Yorkers secure jobs that help working families and businesses cut their energy bills while reducing greenhouse gas pollution,” said Governor Paterson. “I have laid out a New Economy jobs plan that will help to put New Yorkers back to work through innovation and technology, and have set a goal to meet 45 percent of our electricity needs through energy efficiency and renewables by 2015. The Green Jobs/Green New York Act is an important tool in achieving these energy and economic goals.”

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said: “Thanks to the Green Jobs/Green New York legislation, homeowners, small business owners, and not-for-profit agencies are encouraged to undertake the energy efficiency projects that will reduce utility bills as well as greenhouse gas emissions. As homes and facilities are retrofitted, and green jobs are created, this program will become a much-need boost for struggling local economies throughout New York State.”

Senator Darrel J. Aubertine, Chair of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, said: “I want to thank the Governor for signing this important legislation here today. This truly is a win-win for New York State which will enable homeowners and small businesses to save money on their energy bills all while creating jobs and putting thousands of New Yorkers back to work. This legislation directs these loans to be spread across the state based on need and here in Upstate New York, where keeping the heat in is a top priority each winter, this program will create jobs and save consumers on their monthly energy bills.”

Governor Paterson also announced that $7 million from the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) has been awarded to 11 counties and New York City to launch the new Green Jobs Corps programs. This funding will allow local departments of social services to provide job skills training and subsidized employment opportunities in “green industries” for public assistance recipients and low-income individuals. Participants in the Green Jobs Corps program will develop occupational skills that will enable them to get jobs in addition to supporting their ability to remain employed and advance in their careers.

To help connect job seekers with the opportunities being announced today, Governor Paterson also announced the launch of a new web site to assist those seeking to enter the new green job sector. The site – www.greencareersny.com – is designed to make it easy for individuals, businesses and workforce professionals to find the State’s local training programs and green job opportunities.

The Green Jobs/Green New York Act (A.8901/S.5888 and chapter amendment A.9031/S.6032) directs the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to establish revolving loan and green jobs training programs to retrofit homes to conserve energy. Loans will be capped at $13,000 for residential and $26,000 for commercial properties. The program will target middleclass homeowners and small businesses that will pay back the loan out of what they save on their energy bills. The job training component will focus on new entrants to the workforce and displaced workers. The training programs and any education and enrollment efforts will be subjected to a competitive procurement process available to community based-organizations.

To fund the weatherization loan program and establish the statewide green jobs training program, NYSERDA will use a portion of $112 million from the auction of carbon emission credits through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The seed money from the RGGI fund will be used to leverage private investment, which will move us toward a goal of retrofitting one million homes over the next five years.

The Green Jobs bill will allow the State to increase its existing and successful weatherization efforts that are already underway. The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) will eventually administer $394 million in funds under American Recover and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). By the end of this month, $190 million in 64 contracts, representing every county in New York, will be executed as part of the WAP program. Under WAP, a minimum of 45,000 residential units will be weatherized in New York State.

Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, Chair of the Assembly Energy Committee, said: “The goal of the Green Jobs/Green New York Program is three fold. It is designed to create jobs, lower energy costs for households, not-for-profits and small businesses and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is exactly the type of innovative initiative President Obama envisions when he talks about creating green jobs and the new clean energy economy. A successful program here in New York will establish us as a national leader in tackling the tough challenges of climate change and employment opportunities in the 21st Century.”

Why We Endorse Councilman Al Vann for Reelection in the 36th CD

David Mark Greaves
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First, in the interest of full disclosure, Publisher David Greaves is President of the Board of
Directors of Magnolia Tree Earth Center of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Inc.  As an Assemblyman, Al Vann
has supported the center founded by Mrs. Hattie Carthan for two decades before Greaves joined
the Board and he has continued to do so as a Councilman, despite Greaves’ presence.  Also,
Greaves made phone calls on the Councilman’s behalf from the second floor of the Harriet Ross
Tubman Avenue AKA Fulton Street, office in the early 80’s.

Why Al Vann?  Because we are at war.  The unemployment rate for Black men is said to be 50%,
matching the school dropout rate.  64% of the national prison population comes from the African
-American community.  Health statistics show obesity, prostate cancer, hypertension, AIDS and
other ailments are at peak levels in Bedford-Stuyvesant.  Foreclosure and sheer economic
distress are the daily fare for too many here.
These are national problems stemming from sources that transcend time, and their solution does
not lie in any one political office, and yet I hear some variation of “That happened on Vann’s
watch, because he was never around,” to which I say “No, it happened on your watch, because had
you been at the front lines, you would have seen him there.”   If these disgruntled had attended
Community Board meetings, or any community-building activity, they would have found him easily.
And if he wasn’t there, they could have invited and questioned him.  It’s a good bet they never
called the Council District office and asked to join the Education Task Force, Senior Task
Force, Community Safety Task Force, Youth Task Force, or even the Coalition for the Improvement
of Bedford Stuyvesant (CIBS). They probably didn’t rally around renaming Gates Avenue for Sonny
Carson, or come out to honor Harriet Tubman.  The only way politicians can catch up with these
folks is to intercept them between the subway and their home.
But even when the day-to-day battles on both sides of the commute prevent presence at the
“Front” in the ongoing struggle of Africans-in-America, votes matter in this war.  Over the next
few years, there will be hundreds of millions of dollars coming down the pipeline as the
stimulus packages roll out.  While all politicians in areas with statistics like those above
will be able to talk about the funds coming in, it is a political pipeline that will be
delivering that money and political relationships built up over the years, where a case can be
made in private, is something that only an incumbent can bring to the office.  And while we are
for term limits and the excitement and new ideas they bring to the local races, after twenty-
seven years in the State Assembly and eight in the City Council, Al Vann has the unusually deep
and personal relationships with politicians across the state and in Washington that can only be
beneficial for the district.
Incumbents traditionally have an easy time of it at reelection but this will be no cakewalk for
Councilman Vann.  He polled only 29% of the total vote, facing an electorate that wants change,
and a smart and able opponent in Mark Winston Griffith who wears the change label very well, but
when you look, you see that Al Vann does also.
Vann was a founder of the African -American Teachers Association and helped create Boys & Girls
Memorial High School and Medgar Evers College.   His official site reminds us that, “As Chairman
of the New York State Black & Puerto Rican Caucus in 1981, Vann led the U.S. Supreme Court fight
that prevented the racial gerrymandering of the New York City Council. The court case led to
increased representation of communities of color in the Council. In addition, Vann also filed a
1982 lawsuit that forced the New York State Legislature to significantly increase representation
of communities of color on the state and federal levels. His landmark victory led to the
creation of two additional Congressional Districts, three additional State Senatorial Districts,
and six additional Assembly Districts for communities of color in New York State.”
Additionally the councilman reported that Bedford Stuyvesant has just received a special federal
grant from the EPA based on a CIBS application that he had spearheaded. “The grant, one of only
two in the country, puts us in a position to receive federal money that will lead the way to
creating a green community with green jobs and green infrastructure,” said Vann.   This is not
promised change, this is delivered and we need more like it.  Plus, the Councilman was a
sergeant in the U.S. Marines and if you have to be in a war, that’s a good side to be on.
Doors open 6:00am November 3rd.  Every vote counts.

Lefferts Place Residents and Developers -The Saga Continues

Aminisha Black
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Lefferts Place is only three blocks long, running parallel to Fulton Street and Atlantic Ave. and bounded by on the east and St. James Place on the west.  My block is the middle block – a tree-lined street with brownstones and compatible apartment buildings. I’ve lived here since 1972. Three of my children were born here and this is the only home any of them know.   Every so often something happens on my block that brings neighboring residents out of their homes to block association meetings or that garner attention from the media. Developers and land use issues really gets the attention of home owners and folk quickly takes sides – for and against.
Most recently it was when CNR Health Care Network’s  ten year old proposal to build  assisted living housing resurfaced as a six story 71 unit building for seniors.  During the 10 years of being in court with the lot’s owner, the area was rezoned, thus the need for community support to obtain a variance.  In July CNR presented the project to 30 residents at a meeting convened by Mr. Roach, president of Lefferts Place Civic Association (LPCA).  Residents voiced concerns about the density of the building that would be nestled between 70 Lefferts Pl, a yellow Civil War era Italianate villa-style mansion,  the survivor of the last threat by a developer that the community succeeded in having landmarked in 2006 and a two-story frame house. The promotional drawing portrayed by CNR as 86 Lefferts Pl was a six story building nestled between another six story building and a four story building.  There was also concerns about parking which didn’t get definitive answers.  In this session I learned that there had been no needs assessment by Community Board Two, that CNR was unwilling to modify their plans to adhere to the rezoning and that we were being asked to support a project which was out of context with the existing housing and we had no way of knowing the ultimate effect of their being granted a variance. Touring their buildings in the Bronx, I got the message loud and clear.  All the buildings were the same – a cluster of six story brick building – absolutely no incongruence here.  I was now absolutely clear that I was on the side of protecting the trees, the sunlight and the air on Lefferts Place.  I was not against housing for seniors and would have appreciated CNR caring about senior housing to the extent that they would have modified  their plans to conform with zoning.
On August 5 at a LPCA meeting, attended by 40 residents from the three blocks, the vote was unanimously against supporting the project.   LPCA is holding its first election in four years, two years overdue. The organization is in dire need of restructuring.  The challenge now is to convince all residents – homeowners and tenants alike – that they make a difference, to keep them involved at whatever level that works for them.  There’s many needed projects, among them investigating ways of utilizing and maintaining the mansion and engaging in creative dialogue about possible uses of the lot at 86 Lefferts Place.  Hopefully, residents will not get caught up in differences but will vote for competent and committed  leadership, capable of building team and creating ways for each and every resident to contribute to their community and most of all training future leaders.  After all developers have their vision – money.  It’s up to us to create a vision of  having our neighborhoods work for everyone with no one left out.

The Turning Point

Kimberlee Currans-Leto
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The morning of September 21, 2009 dawned just like any other day in the Capital Region with thick fog and subtle fall colors quietly peeping.  For many it was business as usual, off to work or school, caught up in the usual traffic going toward downtown.  Still while the subtle suggestion of autumn remained heavy, almost uncertain of complete transformation, there was a buzz and a hope of knowing something special was about to happen.  Many eagerly waited along Albany-Shaker Road and later Route 4 for the arrival of President Barrack Obama and his visit to Hudson Valley Community College.  His visit not only marks an opportunity for Troy to be in the national spotlight, it also marks the first time a sitting president has visited the Collar city since the Eisenhower administration.  Many Trojans would agree much has changed, that we indeed have come full circle.
In its heyday, Troy was a hub of commerce, a beacon of culture and activity due to its pinnacle position along the Hudson River and proximity to the end of the Erie Canal.  But hard times have beaten down this pre-industrial beauty.  Out of many upstate towns, Troy is one of the oldest and yet due to economic downturn starting 30 years ago, one of the least respected.  But I say, many are wrong to underestimate Troy’s potential to rise from the ashes.  It is the best-hidden secret in the area. Obama’s visit marks a turning point, a cusp at which the Collar City can shine again, gain the attention such a diverse and historically rich city deserves.  I believe Obama’s visit is just the first of many magnificent opportunities for the outside to see what’s going on in upstate New York but mostly in Troy.  The Capital Region may be small but we are gaining notoriety and prestige by signaling to the world, this where you want to be if you want to be an active participant for changing and rebuilding America.  It can happen one village, one community at a time.
Many have asked me in recent days, ‘why do you think Obama chose Troy or Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC)?’  Is it the proximity to the city and his appearance on Letterman or his expected meeting at the United Nations, or do you think there are other reasons, strategically?  Honestly, he chose Troy and specifically HVCC because I believe he sees the work we doing here as an active role model for how he thinks all communities should be working to reinvent themselves.  Honestly I believe he chose HVCC because it is an excellent place to receive a top rate education without going into a tremendous amount of debt. I believe he values education as he values health care for every American and he sees community colleges are playing a significant role in re-establishing a value for education in this country.  Here in Troy, he introduced his plan that by 2020 America will once again have the highest rate of college graduates and he believes many of those educations will begin at community colleges.
I never went to a community college but I took a different path from the average experience. I went to Mills College in Oakland, CA; it is the oldest woman’s college west of the Rocky Mountains but I can still remember people questioning my choice.  But that is the beauty of this country; we have a choice.  We have the opportunity to tap into and explore our potential and aptitude toward a skill, a talent, which leads to a mind spring of innovation and creativity.  College promotes flexible, critical thinking where ideas can be researched. Places of higher learning like HVCC embody the values needed for such paths to grow because it makes education accessible.  Community college gives students more options toward a brighter future and this in turn influences the entire community.  I never realized the importance of community college because I had my mind set on an ‘ivy league’ level education but I also received the scholarship money.  Not everyone else is in the same position.  I never realized how many people would not be where they are today without the benefit of community college education.  Personal story: Dr. Lauren Reager, a dermatologist in Santa Monica, CA saved my life when at fifteen years old I was diagnosed with lupus.  I am alive because of him. At the time in the late 1980s not only was there not a test for lupus, not many doctors had experience with the disease.  I am extremely fortunate he began his studies at a community college because that is where he gained the knowledge and the tools to see past the typical set of classical illnesses.  I explore this need for accessible education because of people like him that have broken down barriers and opened doors to education mainly due to their value for research and investigation that began at the community college level.
America faces issues of accessibility where there is a clear disparity, a divide.  While it is seen in health care, it creates obstacles everywhere else.  Clearly after hearing his speech in Troy, he has a master plan because he knows community colleges hold the key and make futures possible where private institutions remain unattainable for many working class families.  The tuition is just too high and the lack of scholarship money is too low because too many families come from the same circumstances.  Much like health care, the financial aid system needs repair.  Obama discussed ditching the middle man, the bank and suggests government lending directly to the student and that these channels must be reopened again. Current credit markets must improve.
While many have fallen on hard times, others have slacked off and let consumption and material things cloud their judgment.  Obama realizes this is true of many lawmakers.  There has been a lack of accountability with regard to understanding what is happening at the community level, what is happening in our neighborhoods. He points out that Troy could be in any American region: the South and the Mid-west.  It has an any town USA quality where stories are similar and patience is wearing thin with regard to lack of jobs. And not just JOBS but high-paying jobs that can feed families and turn areas once hit by poverty into places of great prosperity.  For upstate New York, this visit is a clear turning point because it represents years if not decades of hard work and gambling on innovative ideas and breakthroughs like nanotechnology and green, renewable energy products.  There is debate over rather or not investment should have been routed upstate rather than the city and other down state areas.  For many years, there has been resentment on the part of upstaters feeling more money should have been invested into improving the area and creating more jobs because such down trodden areas promote poverty, welfare, gangs and drugs.
Still the President could have gone to Troy, MI.  He could have gone to any other similar town but instead he chose Troy, NY and HVCC for a valid reason. Upstate is on the cusp of greatness.  Obama alluded to the fact that like many cities, Troy does not stand alone in the challenge of rebuilding a better America but also such a mission begins at the roots.  Every individual, every block, every community has a voice and participatory role in the reinvention of America.  That is the message Obama aimed to present while in Troy but also he wants a return to what Troy used to be. Troy was a leader of industry, a place where creativity and innovation married to bring inventions to every household.  Many men today would not have collars on their shirts, if it were not for the city of Troy.  It is that simple.  Obama seeks to harness that feeling of possibility, the seeking of new and better ways of doing simple things.  He thinks this is how inventions are created and new products introduced to the market place and he is right.
There must be the ‘can do’ attitude that so many from Troy’s hey day possessed, the feeling that anything is possible and that we are definitely at a turning point in our evolution as Americans.  It is thought that such a focus upon the basics will allow for social advancement where voices are heard and change is not a foreign concept.  We will be a culture without fear and this will spawn further invention but also artistic movements and folklore.  The message here is bring the value for innovation, research and clear communication back to the people because this will drive the costs of doing business down.  Small business should be on the rise and encouraged.
Troy is an accurate role model of how everything that is happening in this country is interconnected but also how change is possible.  That breakthroughs taking place in research at HVCC has a direct impact upon the world, but this also drives enthusiasm. It becomes contagious but also drives sustained growth and shared prosperity, which builds American competitive advantage.  Continued innovation helps all sectors of industry because it creates an open and free market.  Obama suggests in this speech that one action correlates with another or that if we value education, this too will influence how health care is reformed and implemented.  This all plays an active role in restoring American back to the status of global leader.
I can just hear the critics now.  Many will think it is just too utopian, that it could not possibly work.  Conservatives will say you cannot cut out the middleman and that banks are the backbone of commerce but so many forget! It is really just so simple and common sense.  Obama’s visit to the Capital Region represents to me that he has not forgotten.  He has not forgotten! There is a challenging road ahead but clearly there is something special happening in Troy that also remains non-partisan. The community actively puts into reality Obama’s vision for the future.  He wants the world to see the difference between potential of ‘what if we apply this great idea’ to the active participation of actually getting it done.  In this way, other cities can also return from the ashes.
Kimberlee Currans-Leto lives and works as a freelance writer in North Troy, NY.  Originally born in Texas and raised in Europe and California, she adopted that ‘New York Sate of Mind’ when she moved upstate with her husband.  Her professional background varies from working on movie sets in Hollywood to saving people’s homes from foreclosure.  She considers herself a ‘foodie’ and finds the best therapy in baking chocolate chip cookies or organizing a huge dinner party.  You can contact her at leto.press@gmail.com.

Health Care Reform: Pt. 3 Who is an American?

Kimberlee Currans-Leto
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It’s that time of year again. Dreaded by children of all ages across the country. The slow gradual progression from long summer days to even shorter hours of daylight is upon us.  The time of year when school bus yellow makes a come back, family members dash out the door, carpools are arranged and Friday nights are spent cheering for high school football heroes blessed with amazing coordination.  Kids and families are back in the swing of things, getting used to all that homework again and making last minute peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  Pretty soon every stoop on the block will have a pumpkin and climbing rose bushes will be replaced with hardy mums.  Say goodbye to summer.  But as we reflect upon another season passing, there is also excitement, a feeling of opportunity as a pall of doubt slowly dissipates and the economy recovers from a year ago.

This country remains poised on the cusp of change.  The new administration has set a tone that it is not afraid to tackle the tough issues like health care reform.

Last November, citizens made history electing the first African American president, Barack Obama and not in my lifetime have I ever seen so many people interacting in the process of politics.  Obama made his campaign and now his administration about people and the needs of American people.  It is this grassroots strategy that continues to resonate a new level of participation.  No longer is the president just the most powerful man in the world, leader of the free world but he is also just a man.  This defines Obama’s appeal to so many who still believe “Yes we can!”

While some worry he will falter under bipartisan pressure, others back Obama’s position on health care reform and look to a future where every American is treated equal, fairly and this continues the movement started on the campaign trail.  Much of the future starts with access to affordable health insurance and quality health care for all Americans.

While the issue of health care reform has created an impassioned debate with the potential to overwhelm dinner conversation and possibly divide families, there remains a weak link in the reform that many conservatives believe will lead to a failed bill.

What we know: Many cannot see eye to eye on the status of the current system. Broken or unbroken, ineffective moneymaking machine or providing quality care, it is anyone’s guess.  One thing for sure, until it is your child, your parent, your own life in the balance, or your lack of money, this issue remains impersonal.  Many people still do not know exactly what the public option is but also on the other hand many believe; could it get any worse? The issue with reform’s ideology: It is very difficult to envision a one thousand page document, a multitude of theories, definitions and complicated legal ease being put into practice on such a grand scale.  This is reform could take years to implement as we transition from the old to the new system.  This reform has the potential to protect our infrastructure.  I am not talking about roads, bridges, canals, airports railroads, or even the Internet but I am talking about people.  The infrastructure is made of people; the working class that make so many lives comfortable.  I am talking about the bus drivers, the trash collectors, waitresses, short order cooks, cleaners, and mechanics, even the cashiers at Wal-Mart.  These are the people that make our country possible.  So then why are they short changed quality health care?

Two things have gone wrong with the reform so far. First it has been rushed and therefore hastily written to a point few can understand it without a law degree.  How is that fair to the infrastructure? For something so monumental, what is the rush?  Campaign promise or not, such a broken system took years, if not decades to build, a solution cannot happen overnight.  The sad truth for over 47 million Americans who remain uninsured and possibly ill, this is the one time as a society we desperately need instant gratification or a magic wand in solving this problem.

Second, many have been quick to judge and look to negative attributes of why reform will not work.  The main concern is how the reform is worded. The language is evasive and generalized.  As with most legal ease and even statues, tried and true laws of this land, this language is open for interpretation by those who practice it, lawmakers.  Such open definitions can lead any law to chaos.  While the language of the reform bill starts by saying “To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes” (H.R. 3200, 111th Congress, 1st session) one cannot help but wonder what the bill means by “all Americans”?  Shouldn’t “all Americans” be replaced with all legal citizens or better yet, all tax paying citizens? If you pay taxes, you qualify for the public option because this seems most fair, right?

Still this issue has been a major point of contention many conservatives consider to be the weak link that opens the door to socialism, even Marxism.  Conservatives enjoy their politics in black and white; the gray areas of uncertainty bother them. This bill bothers them because they believe it opens the door for non-resident aliens to be entitled to our health care system, a system they describe as the best in the world. The reform language uses the word beneficiary but does not state the criteria for establishing who a beneficiary will be.  All Americans could include legal resident aliens, right?  On page 170, it does state non-resident aliens will not be allowed to partake of the benefit. What do we do about the non-resident aliens already taking advantage of the best health care system in the world?  What about people with green cards?  Never in the bill does it state the type of identification process a beneficiary will have to complete in order to get approved for the public option.  Besides many forms of identification can be forged, bought and sold for the right amount money.  Conservatives worry this reform will encourage further identity theft to include not just bank or credit cards but also health insurance coverage.

While the above are legitimate concerns every American should consider as we wait holding our breath on such a crucial issue, I cannot help but think about weighing out the options.  Yes there are many negatives to the reform but on the flipside, there are also positive impacts for so many individuals and families that I cannot deny the potential seen in Obama’s vision.

Part of what bothers me most is that the current system is killing people, making children and families suffer unnecessarily. So many have shared devastating stories of having to make life changing decisions based on either lack of coverage and affordability this directly contributes to weakening the infrastructure.  We need to take care of the core before thinking of anything else.  No longer should families have to be faced with losing their child because of being on a waiting list or being refused insurance due to a preexisting condition.  There must be a way to unveil the true American experience to those unable or unwilling to see exactly what is taking place around them.  It is my belief that health care reform is just the first piece in the puzzle of creating a new America one voice, one story at a time.

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